Something about Claire

Claire is 14 months old now.
She loves to run around outside just as much as she loves being held by mom.
She loves to sit in your lap to read books or eat treats in the kitchen.
She loves stacking rings and blocks as much as she loves tearing apart and throwing puzzle pieces.
She talks to us all the time but only manages to make a couple of sounds: "buh," "mama," "da," and "dis."
She never actually says "up" but will instead throw her head back with her mouth wide open and grin audibly.

She has all sorts of games and routines set in her head:
When we change her diaper she likes to play "stinky feet" where I have now added a hand wave as I say "P.U.! Stinky Feet!"
She remembers to say prayers in the mornings, evenings, and before meals and to read scriptures in the morning.
When she wakes up she points to the window to let us know that we should open the curtains because she doesn't want to go back to sleep.
When she is tired and wants to sleep, she points at her crib and whines for her Binky.
When I am putting my makeup on Claire thinks that she needs to pull all of the brushes out of my drawer.
When anyone goes into the bathroom Claire thinks she needs a square of toilet paper that she then proceeds to tear to shreds and throw either in the toilet or garbage.
When we go outside she points to the keys and opens the drawer where we keep the garage opener because we almost always bring both of those outside.


She thinks that if she gets her shoes out that she will get to go outside.
She likes to get up on the couch and lay back on the pillows and sigh, then get up again and walk around to some new place to try out. This is all before she throws all the "throw pillows" onto the floor.
She now laughs at EVERYTHING. She laughs when we laugh, she laughs when she sees us. She laughs when we look at her. She laughs when she wants us to look at her. She just laughs and it's adorable!
She likes to wear hats, our shoes, and hair accessories all of which come out moments after successfully putting them on her.
Her absolute favorite toys are books. The first thing she pulls out every day is her box of books.
She likes to empty and then sit in boxes. Size does not matter.

She will now actually help clean up! Sometimes she gets sidetracked, but most of the time she thinks it's great fun to run back and forth between her crushed cracker bits/torn up paper/onion paper pile and the garbage.
She also likes to use the little dust pan broom and wipe counters/bodies.
She likes to use the little blue snot sucker... weird, I know!
She absolutely LOVES vegetables and fruit! With her 8 front teeth and 4 molars she happily munches on:
Zuccini/Italian Squash
Summer Squash
Crinkle cut Carrots
Fresh/Frozen Green Beans
Black Beans
Broccoli--sometimes
Cauliflower--sometimes
Grape/Cherry Tomatoes (but only the insides)
Olives (black and green)
Peaches
Pears
Apples
Grapes
Strawberries
Raspberries
Blueberries
Bananas--sometimes


I don't know what happened to my little girl to make her change so VERY much in just a month, but oh my goodness! I'm grateful! Each day of the past couple of weeks has been a pleasure! It doesn't always start out that way though. It's just nice that my complete exhaustion in the evenings is now due to fun having rather than battling. But please note, Claire does still scream a lot. And she's found the perfect pitch that vibrates you ears with it's intensity and piercing tone. My right ear will never be the same :(

We love our quirky & spirited little girl!